Wayne Rooney will be out with an injured ankle for three weeks, which also gives him a break from the constant media attention and tabloid scrutiny over his recent, highly-publicized bad press.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said that Rooney will be out for “two to three weeks” at least and insisted the injury was an ankle injury, rather than a break for a player under a severe spot-light.

Rooney now misses a Premier League match against Sunderland and an England European Championships qualifier against Montenegro on October 12.

Rooney was humiliated in the press again recently when another of his dalliances with prostitutes – this time while his wife was pregnant – made its way into the tabloids. His form had dipped long before then and his abject performance in the World Cup seemed more than just a product of the England squad’s poor chemistry.
His performance in the English Premier League has been no better and, top scorer last year, he has scored just once this year – a penalty.

Rooney’s personal life has proved a constant distraction. In 2004, it was reported that he had been caught soliciting prostitutes in Liverpool, one of whom gloried in the nickname ‘Old Slapper’ and in 2006 he successfully sued a newspaper which reported that he had assaulted his wife in a nightclub.